The Lazy Landlord in law suite and landscaping

[Steven Maduro]

Hello Bigger pockets Family

I am writing this particlular piece 

because I am currently renovating the downstairs portion of my house. 

I have hired contractors to do the bulk of the work. 

because one I am lazy and two.  although I know how to do 

some of the work. I believe. that having quality product is more important than saving a few dollars.

choosing a contractor is tricky 

but here is a good piece of advice that was given to me and I will pass it on,

if you have a big project like remodeling an entire space to function as an in-law suite.

You should get one contractor who can do the entire job himself without farming or subcontracting any work.

Why?

because you can get a better deal. because the contractor does not have to come out of pocket to pay anyone else to run the job.

With the exception of electrical and plumbing. I chose a contractor who could do the turnkey himself.

so why is this in the lazy landlord section.

because you can do things to help reduce cost .

and still be lazy.

you  can do any demo work that needs to be done. 

 another reason you want to do the demo yourself 

is that you will get to see first hand whats behind your walls. 

and it may spur some ideas

for example I took out a wall in the bathroom and noticed 

an open area between two 2x4's 

and I got the idea of putting a row of glass block since it was an exterior wall 

and the bathroom had no window. 

it is only going to add 300 dollars to the project 

and is a huge upgrade.  

I would have never noticed this if I hadnt pulled the wall myself.

Demo is pretty easy as you see on those hgtv and DIY shows

a few simple tools like a cats claw or wonder bar 

hatchet. or hammer is all that is needed.

wing the back of a hatchet or cats claw 

and make several holes in a 3x3 area

then stick the other end into the holes and pull 

it is pretty simple 

after it is all removed if you want you can remove the screws

but most contractors will be checking for screws as they hang drywall anyway and the good ones will be happy to as they will reuse the scres.

doing the demo can shave a thousand or so off of the price.

what about the mess? that needs to be cleaned 

many many contractor bags 

or even a dumster

get a teen in the neighborhood to assist with clean up if you just cant 

muster up the vigor to tackle the clean up 

but honestly it isnt so bad. 

clean up happens pretty quickly big items first 

then sweep up starting from the corners and wall edges and work in toward the center of the room.

investing in a big metal dustpan 

and a broom that is tied together well is the key. 

there will be more to follow.